Over the past several years, Town Meeting has adopted several bylaws aimed at rowdy student behavior - particularly parties involving University of Massachusetts students who live off campus. The bylaws have targeted nuisance houses, open containers, and beer keg permits, with fines that have increased over time.

This single-family house bylaw addresses the growing numbers of homes that were once owner-occupied but are now being rented to students. According to a Planning Board report based on assessor records, there were eight such conversions in 2009 and 20 to date in 2012, with 27 projected for the year.

Planners are split, however. Webber said he supports the bylaw. “I think it’s a good idea. The Planning Board is limited in scope in terms of what it can do. ... We’ve become the sounding board for the public on a lot of these issues,” Webber said.

But member Jonathan O’Keeffe opposes it.

“Were trying to find a balance between regulations that will protect the neighbors from the unwanted effects (of students) and not make things overly restricted for property owners,” he said. “This one goes a little too far.”

For example, he said, a professor taking a sabbatical might want to rent for a year. Under the proposal he or she would have to seek a special permit.

According to the Planning Board report, the town counsel believes this bylaw is probably the first attempt in the state to regulate single-family rentals in this way. But according to the report, the counsel “believes that this is an eminently defensible way to regulate the impacts of single-family rental properties in Amherst.”

The board unanimously supports another proposal that would require special permits to anyone renting out both units of a duplex. An owner who occupies half of the duplex would just need site plan review, O’Keeffe said.

There would be far more single-family homes that would need such a permit than duplexes, he said, and the nature of a duplex is that it is operated as investment property.

Also if an owner is living there “the assumption is they’re keeping an eye on things,” he said.

The Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative is currently looking at setting up a rental registration program that would allow the town to address problem landlords.

The Planning Board, meanwhile, is supporting a resident petition article that strengthens the nuisance house bylaw. The proposal would allow the town to hold property managers liable in addition to property owners.